A million dollars! That’s how much Lisa’s salary increase will pay her over the next twelve years! And that’s without counting interest. Lisa, one of DevelopHer’s first members, gained an $80,000 pay increase when she took her most recent job as a principal site reliability engineer for a healthcare technology company. Her experience in consulting, cloud-based application usage, and even developing art for video games gave her the background to know what value she had to bring to a business. She’s now positioned for personal success andis poised to help her company improve their infrastructure and increase profits.

Be Willing to Pivot

Change is a critical part of career success. No skill is wasted. Agile is more than a software development methodology. It describes the ability to pivot to the next move, drawing from the work that has gone before. Soft skills, business basics, and communication abilities contribute to each career shift.

Gain Valuable Perspective

A lot is written about negotiation, but it is still a challenge. Networking is a good start. Researching specific companies and what they pay developers is essential. Don’t start with your previous numbers. Learn what each company needs and what they’re willing to pay for it.

Own YourOutcome

Know the numbers. Then be strategic as to your desired outcome. DevelopHer’s scripts help you ask more to begin with. Raises from one job to the next may still not get you to the pay level that is in line with the value you bring to the company. Once the focus is on what you have that the company needs, the salary negotiation shifts. It’s not about how much they’ll pay; it’s about how much you’re worth.

Build Confidence and Competence

This is bigger than a pay increase. Being strategic and understanding what a company needs positions you to move into the new job and address what you were hired for. And that’s a confidence builder. The best way to overcome imposter syndrome is competence and confidence. It’s that confidence that can be invested in others.

A career disappointment could have been the end of a dream for Dr. Karen Panetta, Dean of Graduate Education at Tufts University and President-Elect of IEEE engineering honor society Eta Kappa Nu. Instead, she turned the difficult experience to good. President Obama honored Karen with the nation’s highest award for engineering education and mentoring. But, Karen didn't stop there. Her innovative Nerd Girls program, produced with IEEE, shows what young women can accomplish in technology. In Episode 8, Lauren talks with Karen about how she took a difficult situation, used it to propel her to new levels of success, and now is paying it forward by encouraging women to follow their "change the world” dreams.

Balance pride and humility

Don’t be surprised if your accomplishments and awards are met by silence. Celebrating your own success elevates women in technology. State the facts of your achievements. Share it out to the world when something significant happens for you.

Promote other women

Helping one woman in tech helps all women in tech. Women are not out for themselves. Show your support for others, and there will be a multiplying effect. Disrupt stereotypes. Women in tech are not just “pizza-eating nerds playing video games in the basement!”

Collaborate

Be a part of solving the bigger problem. Build up women. Invite other women to support your endeavors. The technology pie is growing. The tent is large, and women in tech can all fit. Women need to keep a growth, rather than a scarcity mindset. Changing the world will require both men and women to engage with each other in the space that’s big enough for all.

Allow the negative to make you stronger

Negative events happen. Negative people will try to bring you down. Failure is a part of learning in both engineering and in life. It’s what engineers do. You can respond with resentment, revenge, and blame, or you can use your energy in positive ways. Turn these events into transformative moments. Remember and lean into what you’re made for. Do what you love.

J. Kelly Hoey, my go-to Networking Expert, has a had a highly successful career that started in law, included tech, and is now in publishing. Her new book, Build your Dream Network, has a unique perspective on networking that aims to help readers create meaningful connections and stand out from the crowd. Kelly wants people to rethink networking. It's not just about cocktail parties, it’s about every single interaction you have – from the comment on Facebook to the small talk with a stranger in line for your morning coffee. Networking is more about human interaction than emails and charts. In this episode, Kelly and I reimagine what networking is and break down specific strategies and perspectives that will help anyone understand networking from a holistic approach, even in you’re an introvert.

Stop and listen to the people around you

You have to stop and listen to the people around you and what it is that they see in you. Sometimes your network sees more in you than you see in yourself.

Networking is something we do every single day

We do it even when we're sleeping. Why? When you're sleeping people are probably Googling you, or they're looking at your profile, or they're thinking about a memo you sent them.

Interact with the world the way you would want.

The big key to networking is to interact with the world in a way that you would want. Think about the other person and how they receive and engage information.

Networking is a marathon, not a sprint.

Networking is building relationships; you're not a salesperson. For most of us what's going on in our careers is relationship building. And that's a marathon, not a sprint.

As soon as Elizabeth Xu stopped comparing herself to others and started recognizing what her own personal strengths were, she was able to really transition into her role as BMC Software’s Chief Architect and Internal CTO. She found a way to step away from her imposter syndrome in a matter of just one week by transforming her mentality and entering the space with a game plan that she was ready to put into action, while celebrating her new path. In Episode 6, Elizabeth and I discuss the importance of aligning yourself with your goals, recognizing your own accomplishments and evolving with them, and being the change you want in your life.

Break through your internal pullback

Break through your internal pullback and recognize that you are the right person for the job and that you will be successful. The first hurdle is forgiving the unreasonable expectation that we put on ourselves that we have to know everything upfront and well.

Identify your strengths and focus on what you are really interested in

Identify your strengths and focus on what you are really interested in and use them as a platform to expand on your capabilities. If you compete with or compare yourself to others, you’ll only be beating yourself up, rather than making a proper impact.

Come up with your game plan by creating a map

Find out what the job requires, what skills and knowledge you don’t currently have, and spend time and money and learn from the best to become the best.

Treat yourself as a baby when you are trying to learn something new

When you make mistakes, embrace them and give yourself enough time to practice and become better, rather than kicking yourself when you are down.

Joan Holman, Chief Information Officer at Strasburger & Price, has strategically used networking and relationship building as tools to grow and advance her career. Despite the fact that she is content in her current role, she continues to network across industries and within her own field, and works to develop and maintain relationships with recruiters. These actions have enabled her to understand and evolve with the industry, and leverage her knowledge of her own market value when it comes to negotiating her worth. In Episode 5, Joan and I talk key tactics women in tech can use to identify their own value and keep up with this ever-changing industry.

Always take the call when you are approached by recruiters

Always take the call when you are approached by recruiters, even if you aren’t actively looking. The position may not be for you, but you may be able to point them in the right direction. This will help you develop a relationship that may one day lead to the right opportunity down the line.

Help others and you will help yourself.

It’s a lot easier to ask about budget when you’re not asking for yourself. These recruiter conversations will help you identify your market value as you help connect them with someone fit for the job. Give value and gain value.

Network outside of your industry

Network outside of your industry to establish a breadth of connections. You’ll gain experience that’s not yours, expand your footprint and land even more opportunities as you establish yourself as their industry go-to.

Understand your own value, and don’t lose sight of it.

You must know what you can bring to the table, what contributions you can make, what skills and expertise you have, and where that fits within an organization.

When Beena Ammanath was ready to get back into leadership after taking what she considered to be a “step back” into an individual contributor role, she used her strong tech foundation to propel herself forward. Now, as the Global Vice President of Data, Artificial Intelligence, and New Tech Innovation at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (whoa!), she is using her own experience to inspire other women in tech to continue working hard to move ahead in the industry. On top of that, she has established a nonprofit aimed at demystifying and humanizing artificial intelligence. With that, we come away with some serious career advancement points.

Accelerate your growth process and your upward trajectory

Accelerate your growth process and your upward trajectory by demonstrating your skillset outside of the box. Offering senior leadership and executive abilities to a startup and creating a “give and take” situation creates a fast-track after a “step back.” To move forward, you have to pull back a little bit.

Leverage your strengths and understand the problem or pain point

Leverage your strengths and understand the problem or pain point to build your reputation. Ask questions, understand what your peers are trying to solve and help them get there, whether you are doing it or you’ are guiding your peers.

It’s not only what you do that is important, but who knows what you do.

To build your influence and establish your credibility and reputation, you need to start early to see pay off. Make sure the right people know how awesome you are, or you may miss out on opportunities.

As women, it is up to us to step out and speak.

It doesn’t matter what career stage you are in, because there will always be someone who is looking for a role model that they can relate to. There are many people going through similar challenges.

When Betsy Bland (Director of User Experience at The Motley Fool) identified an opportunity for improvement within the business, she approached the CTO and was inevitably asked to lead up the team of designers – her peers – to implement the change. In Episode 3 of The DevelopHer Show, Lauren and Betsy unfold the challenges behind transitioning from peer to leader, and what strategies tech women can utilize to own the strides they make when moving up in the industry.

#1 If you identify a business need, speak up. Growth and redevelopment can only take place if the person who recognizes the need brings it to the attention of the appropriate superior. Doing so may open doors for career advancement, if you wait to be asked. Doing so will open doors, if you have the confidence to say what you want.

#2 If you want your peers to be invested in their work, get stakeholder buy-in. Take the time to understand the challenges and desires of your teammates in order to help them determine how they may contribute to the company’s overarching goals. Grant the opportunity for people to feel heard and they will put their full heart into their work.

#3 Realize that sometimes you may have to let success speak for itself. Rather than trying to move a boulder, go around it. As a leader, it can be challenging to get your team 100% on board. Present your ideas and goals, shoot for the small wins and let those that are uncertain observe the insights on their own.

#4 You don’t have to have a huge collection of reports to be a leader. A leader is someone who has influence and who gets things done. “Leader” isn’t necessarily a title, a position or a number of reports; it’s someone who as the ability to make impactful movements across a team and a company as a whole.

#5 Everyone makes mistakes. It’s what you make out of those mistakes that shape you. Don’t wait around for things to go wrong or for opportunities to pass you by; take your mistakes at face value, learn your lesson and use them as tools to improve upon future actions.

Karen Catlin is no stranger to criticism – her own criticism. This former Adobe VP of Engineering turned advocate for tech women spent 25 years building software products, before she decided to take a career pivot to teach others how to become leaders in this competitive industry. In Episode 2 of The DevelopHer Show, Lauren talks to Karen about the reality that is imposter syndrome, and the tools that tech women can use to share their accomplishments without suffering the likability penalty.

Embrace Public Speaking

It will unlock opportunities and open doors for future career opportunities, while making others aware of your experience. Public speaking is like a multi-vitamin for your career; it can be used as a tool to share your expertise, and to talk about the work you’re doing in a genuine, educational way.

Turn Off Your Imposter Syndrome Soundtrack

Turn off your imposter syndrome soundtrack by acknowledging that imposter syndrome exists and setting goals to help you overcome it, and your inner critic. These two handicaps are experienced by women in tech at all levels, even those in senior positions, but there are steps you can take to put them behind you.

Figure Out the Business Impact While Working on a Project

Figure out the business impact while working on a project, and you will do a better job. Instead of doing the work and connecting the dots later, determine what components will lead to success in the beginning. What is the ‘why’? What is the real pain? The answers to these questions will enable you to accomplish real goals, rather than simply getting the job done. When you have to talk about what you did, you’ll have concrete facts to share rather than a simple description of the task.

Don’t Shy Away from Highlighting Yourself

Don’t shy away from highlighting yourself, for how else will others know what you are capable of? You will not be noticed if you simply keep your head down and do good work. Good work is not enough. Use the business impact to your advantage, by presenting the facts and metrics that go hand-in-hand with your work. You’ll be sharing your accomplishments without seeming as though you are bragging too much.

Most of us have faced unique challenges in our work and personal lives because of our gender. If you’re a woman in tech you are also working in a male dominated field that presents it’s own set of challenges.

I sat down with Candice Savino, VP of Engineering at Trunk Club, to understand how she navigated this challenging environment while still retaining her authenticity. Here are my key takeaways from our chat.

Navigating the Rough Patches

We all go through tough times. What’s important is to stay focused on learning from the experience. The lessons you are learning as you navigate through the hard times are often the most valuable.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

If you are comfortable in your role you have probably been there too long. Taking a risk, accepting a new role, or just learning to speak up for yourself all require you to step out of your comfortable cocoon of familiarity.

Trial and Error is Okay

Taking a risk means you could fail, but it also means you could succeed and create something amazing! You’re going to make mistakes and that’s okay, but don’t let fear stop you from taking that leap of faith in yourself.